Tagged

O.K. Erin tagged me to describe myself in 6 words. Here it goes:
Blessed- I have so much to be thankful for. First, my family's health. My wonderful husband and children. A large, close family (We vacation together every year and fill a house with as many people as we can. It is the best week of the year!)Some of the greatest friends. The list goes on, and I am truly thankful for everything I have.
Generous- This sounds a little funny, but ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to give things to other people. When I was younger, it may have been toys. As I grew older, It was more about feeling guilty if I had something that someone couldn't have(if that makes sense). So, I try to help others whenever I get the chance. Which brings me to the next word..
Compassionate- I became a nurse because I have always wanted to help people. I hate to see suffering and although it is part of life, if there is anything I can do to help, I will.
Family oriented- I love my family. They are the most important people in my life ( after God of course). And I mean my Entire family. Being with my immediate family, my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is the best place to be for me!
Kind- Now, we all have our moments and even our days! When I meet a stranger, I think I meet them with a smile. I try to do special things for the special people in my life.
Humble- I truly don't and never have thought of myself as better than anyone. I know I'm not.

That's it for me. I am suppose to send this on, so I'm going to try!

We had some disappointing news last week by email from our agency. We had been asking about the status of our LOA, since we haven't heard anything and it has been 120 days since we mailed off our paperwork. We found out that the latest was that our dossier was in the review room and then would be sent to the matching room. This news was devastating to me since I have daily been looking to receive our LOA. We have no idea what caused such a delay. I was very sad and really angry for a few days, it seems so unfair. But I woke up this morning and decided to pray to God to please sustain me through this day. (Thank you Jan) And tomorrow I will do the same thing. This has been really hard. I have cried and begged God to please take us to Cate. I have viewed each day as another day without her. But I must put my hope in Him. No matter what comes my way.

Video of Cate

Prayers

Well, we're still waiting for our LOA. So many families have received theirs whose paperwork was sent after ours. Our agency said that they would check on ours, and so we are praying for some good news soon. I can't explain the emotions over the past couple of months- the daily anticipation and then disappointment with no word. Ours hearts ache to hold this little girl that we have come to love. She is getting older with every passing day, and we want so badly for her to know us as her family. All that being said, we have the most wonderful family and friends. The words of encouragement and love has meant so much.
Please pray for us and for Cate and that everything falls into place for us to be able to travel for Cate soon.

Happy Summer

Pressley is waiting for the girls to STOP dancing !

The girls danced the ENTIRE weekend!

Pressley and his cousin Madelyn are the cutest little friends!

Sophie and cousin Taylor

Here is Pressley with his Henna tattoo

We joined several families this past weekend on a boat trip to Myrtle Beach. It was lots of fun and all of the children had a blast! Rion is at camp this week doing all the things he likes best-hunting, fishing, lots of outdoors activities. I can't believe it's July but it seems like summers always go by fast. We are trying to make the most of ours!

No news with our adoption. It has been brought up that maybe China is stalling LOA's to keep people from traveling during the Olympics. While I would like to believe that this is not the case, we have been waiting 99 days( did I really just say that?) since our dossier arrived in Beijing. I did not think we would have to wait this long and certainly hoped we would have Cate with us by July. This has been a very emotional process, probably more than I thought it would. And especially the last couple of months. It is so hard with every passing day knowing that was another day spent without Cate. Missing another day of her life, another day that we could be bonding with her and her with us. There is a family in Hefei right now, and when we sleep tonight, they will be visiting the orphanage. Ruth has a package for Cate and will try to get to see her. I am very anxious to hear about this and if we get new pictures, I will try to post them. Please pray for our family and for Cate that we will be together soon!